Of the players that would be realistic to pick up I don't think anyone makes us dramatically better with the exception of maybe Gay if you consider him a realistic choice.

We should see what we have with the current group. If our defense can step up the way it did last season, and our key players manage to stay healthy then we should have no problem making the playoffs in the east because our offense has improved with the additions of Lowry, Ross and JV. Keep in mind many people thought we could have made the playoffs last season if Bargnani stayed healthy.

Making the playoffs hinges on whether our defense remains true in year two of the D. Casey era. Scoring won't be a problem.

...our offense has improved with the additions of Lowry, Ross and JV.
[...]
Scoring won't be a problem.

Yeah, I'm not convinced.

JV: I watched lietuvos rytas games this season, and although JV is an NBA-level finisher, defender, and rebounder, he has no offensive game of his own. He's not an offensive liability like a Biyombo or a Thabeet because of his ability to catch and finish, but his offensive game is significantly worse than, say, Amir's. I'd peg him as a little better than Ed Davis right now on offense.

Lowry: Yeah, he's a bull on D. But he's certainly not going to be an offensive improvement over Jose, one of the most efficient offensive PGs in the league.

Ross: I'll wait and see. I think he'll be decent, and that will help some because DD is terrible, but I don't see him being the game-changer that makes us an offensive juggernaut.

JV: I watched lietuvos rytas games this season, and although JV is an NBA-level finisher, defender, and rebounder, he has no offensive game of his own. He's not an offensive liability like a Biyombo or a Thabeet because of his ability to catch and finish, but his offensive game is significantly worse than, say, Amir's. I'd peg him as a little better than Ed Davis right now on offense.

Lowry: Yeah, he's a bull on D. But he's certainly not going to be an offensive improvement over Jose, one of the most efficient offensive PGs in the league.

Ross: I'll wait and see. I think he'll be decent, and that will help some because DD is terrible, but I don't see him being the game-changer that makes us an offensive juggernaut.

JV from 2010-11 to 2011-12 was a big difference. He is working on his post game. It is not a finished product but it is not garbage either. He is a guy who has routinely put up 12 points on just 5 shots.

Lowry has a much better PER than Jose. Jose is much better on assist to turnover no doubt. Lowry's defence should help lead to easier buckets as well.

Not expecting much from Ross either but the comments about his defensive tenacity are great to hear. Good D leads to easy O. Beyond his rookie year though, he is likely to be at least on par with DeRozan, in my opinion.

JV from 2010-11 to 2011-12 was a big difference. He is working on his post game. It is not a finished product but it is not garbage either. He is a guy who has routinely put up 12 points on just 5 shots.

Lowry has a much better PER than Jose. Jose is much better on assist to turnover no doubt. Lowry's defence should help lead to easier buckets as well.

Not expecting much from Ross either but the comments about his defensive tenacity are great to hear. Good D leads to easy O. Beyond his rookie year though, he is likely to be at least on par with DeRozan, in my opinion.

I also assume Bargnani will be playing more than 31 games next season (I hope). That right there should give us a big offensive boost, if Lowry/Fields/JV/Ross does not.

Sorry I didn't really answer your question. I think SF remains our weakest position (until T. Ross gets strong enough to move to SF that is), so anyone better than L. Fields would be great. I like Granger for his leadership, Iggy for his defense and Gay for his scoring.

Sorry I didn't really answer your question. I think SF remains our weakest position (until T. Ross gets strong enough to move to SF that is), so anyone better than L. Fields would be great. I like Granger for his leadership, Iggy for his defense and Gay for his scoring.

Iggy is definitely a realistic possibility. Gay is possible but more unlikely now that we have less to offer. I don't think Granger is a possibility at the moment to the Raptors.

Being realistic...I have a hard time seeing anyone get moved to us other than maybe Granger. I can see Gay being moved, but I don't know what Memphis would want back from us. They have a frontcourt set, and a good enough young PG, and we have no wing other than maybe Demar that they might want...but how would salaries balance if they don't want Jose or Amir? Anyway, I can see Iggy being moved too, but it seems he's available every summer and he doesn't get traded. I'm starting to think he's a bit of a headcase or something, and that when teams ask around about him, they're not happy with what they hear.

Granger is on a pretty loaded Indiana team. If someone like Kleiza has a good enough year, I can see a deal centred around Jose-Kleiza-Davis and Granger-Augustin...with various other parts, picks, and money up in the air. Indiana still has Green(who could still improve) and George(who likely will improve), and if Kleiza is shooting well and rebounding well, they keep a solid wing rotation. With Jose they get a better PG than Augustin for a payoff run, and keep a pretty big expiring contract that's comparable to Granger's, and expires sooner, which may be helpful if they want flexibility sooner. And they desperately need a better young big somewhere behind Hibbert and West, and I think West might be the ideal kind of mentor for Davis.
Meanwhile, we get a fringe all-star SF who shoots well, rebounds well and is a pretty good defender, something we really need all around. We have less flexibility next summer but address our greatest need and get more flexibility the summer after. Augustin is well-suited to a backup role, and has a small expiring contract. In the process we clear up the logjam at PF (even if I'd rather keep Ed, but doubtful IND would want Amir's contract), get better roster balance, don't lose PG depth and don't give up any key pieces like JV, Bargs, DeRozan, Lowry (maybe Ross?? we'll see how he does). Win-win right?? We might have to give up a pick or find a 3rd team to do so but I'm ok with that.

The only starting position that I would like to see further upgraded is SF. Iguodala would appear to be the ideal candidate ahead of the season, given his age/contract and the fact that Philly has added even more wings (Wright & Harkless at SF, Turner & N.Young at SG, plus Thad. Young can play SF). I could see Gay being available during the season, given the fact that Memphis is in luxury tax range, especially if Memphis struggles at all in the loaded Western Conference. I was high on Chandler last season and think he could be availble, given Denver's crazy depth on the wings, but coming off a hip injury scares me a little. I also worry that if Fields develops and realizes his potential, he could very well become the identical player that Chandler is: good but not great on both ends of the court.

Aside from starting SF, the only other position that needs to be resolved is backup PG. It could be Calderon (likely will be traded this offseason or at trade deadline) or Lucas (great 3rd string, iffy 2nd string) but, for very different reasons, I wouldn't bet heavily on either guy being the primary backup to Lowry.

The only starting position that I would like to see further upgraded is SF. Iguodala would appear to be the ideal candidate ahead of the season, given his age/contract and the fact that Philly has added even more wings (Wright & Harkless at SF, Turner & N.Young at SG, plus Thad. Young can play SF). I could see Gay being available during the season, given the fact that Memphis is in luxury tax range, especially if Memphis struggles at all in the loaded Western Conference. I was high on Chandler last season and think he could be availble, given Denver's crazy depth on the wings, but coming off a hip injury scares me a little. I also worry that if Fields develops and realizes his potential, he could very well become the identical player that Chandler is: good but not great on both ends of the court.

Aside from starting SF, the only other position that needs to be resolved is backup PG. It could be Calderon (likely will be traded this offseason or at trade deadline) or Lucas (great 3rd string, iffy 2nd string) but, for very different reasons, I wouldn't bet heavily on either guy being the primary backup to Lowry.

I think Philly are in for a fall.

They have no one near Elton "Old Man" Brand's abilities on O or D among their current bigs.

Not sure Young will be able to do what Williams did.

Royal Ivey makes John Lucas III look like a first team all NBA.

Harkless is a talent no question but he is also a project.

Hopefully Doug Collins does what he has done in every other stop: wear on the players to the point of tuning out. Combine that with a downgrade in talent (my opinion!) and AI is shopped for real come December.

They have no one near Elton "Old Man" Brand's abilities on O or D among their current bigs.

Not sure Young will be able to do what Williams did.

Royal Ivey makes John Lucas III look like a first team all NBA.

Harkless is a talent no question but he is also a project.

Hopefully Doug Collins does what he has done in every other stop: wear on the players to the point of tuning out. Combine that with a downgrade in talent (my opinion!) and AI is shopped for real come December.

lol you forgot to mention that they expect to start Kwame Brown as their center :P

The current roster does not provide any measure of comfort that we will make the playoffs. (Miami, Brooklyn, NY, Philly, Atlanta, Boston, Indiana, Washington, Chicago, ....)

What players will improve our chances ? I am a big fan Iguodala like so many of you are and hope a trade can be made.
But who else.

We could have had M. Pietrus last year. Great role player in Boston's run last year. Is a return of Barbosa possible?

Chicago may be playing without Rose all season, Deng probably won't play from season start, i think without them they aren't so strong. We are not worse than Philly and Atlanta too. I think we can successfully compete for playoffs with current roster. We have fair enough starters Lowry, Derozan, Fields, Bargnani and Valanciunas. Our bench is as deep as hell with Jose, Ross, Ed, Amir, Gray and Kleiza. Which of team you mentioned have longer bench? The team is not only starting 5 .
I'm in, if we're gonna trade for Iggy or anyone who's similar caliber player, but why we should need more strong bench players like Pietrus, especially after we traded out JJ for future 2nd rounder?

The current roster does not provide any measure of comfort that we will make the playoffs. (Miami, Brooklyn, NY, Philly, Atlanta, Boston, Indiana, Washington, Chicago, ....)

Have you checked out Atlanta's roster lately? They're tearing the team down to rebuild it. And Washington is intriguing but who can really say how it will fit together.

And W. Chandler is just a slightly better (along with older & more proven) player than Fields, and gets paid slightly more. If we give up any somewhat significant player for him it really wouldn't be much of an improvement overall.

Right now the harsh luxury tax penalties are a year off. Come trade deadline teams not in the playoffs will begin the process of jettisoning contracts. This is where value can potentially be gained. Keep in mind teams won't want to get rid of their good players, but those are the ones that can be moved. As we've seen with Turk bar, no bad contract is unmoveable. lol

How likely is it that Iguodala uses his ETO next year? I really don't want to move assets for what amounts to a half-season rental of AI, and I believe the only way he can get an extend-and-trade is if it's signed before this season starts.

How likely is it that Iguodala uses his ETO next year? I really don't want to move assets for what amounts to a half-season rental of AI, and I believe the only way he can get an extend-and-trade is if it's signed before this season starts.

If he did opt out, Raps would have enough money under the luxury tax for a max contract - could be available via trade or free agency.

Trade is most likely but a strong year by Toronto and the elimination of sign and trades for tax teams might make Toronto an interesting option with a load of young talent and good coach.

Personally, I don't see AI leaving $15M on the table when he can sign his final big contract the following summer. I don't think AI gets $15M per year in his next contract. A Gerald Wallace-like contract seems about right (4 years, $40M).

“The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.” - Martin Luther King